Dear Parents,

Thank you very much for your support of this week’s special Chinese cultural activities and events.  These have included traditional painting, calligraphy, music, archery and tea ceremonies, amongst many others, and culminated in yesterday’s excellent Drama performance, by Year 11 students, of the Chinese play ‘Sunrise’, and today’s Traditional Dress Day.

Cultural respect and appreciation is very much part of a Wellington education, and ‘Respect’ is one of the five core Wellington values.  This is particularly apt for our China context, given our host country’s long historical tradition, through millennia, of good manners and considerate etiquette, hallmark characteristics of genuine respect.  We believe it very important that we strive to model this value at all times in School life, and beyond.  And we believe that respect is equally important between and across all pupil year groups, and similarly between staff, parents, and all members of the community.   

Respect can be defined in many positive ways.  Just as for the value ‘Responsibility’, which we considered in this column a few weeks ago, respect should of course apply both towards oneself and to others.  And as a genuine appreciation of every one we come into contact with, and as a desire to promote the best for every individual, respect should be a fundamental characteristic of all teachers, in their daily aim of maximizing their pupils’ potential.  (This is quite the opposite, for example, of the dictator’s demanded, or compelled, negative form of ‘respect’, which is then really just another word for fear.) 

Your children’s teachers are privileged both to encourage and to witness, daily, our young people’s development and practice of the positive value of respect.  Besides such cultural and moral examples as referred to above, there are specific pastoral approaches and school policies we apply to promote respect for others, and self:  anti-bullying assemblies, healthy eating week, and pupil leadership opportunities would be to name just a few.  As an example of the latter, I have just enough space left to refer to yesterday morning’s meeting of our Student Pastoral Committee, at which I was very pleased to hear so many considerate ideas, respectfully shared with Mr Lewis, on how to further support the Wellbeing of all our students. 

Our theme this week also chimes with the upcoming Chongyang Festival on 9^th October, and its emphasis on respect and veneration for family elders, which is another great Chinese tradition.

We hope all our Wellington families enjoy an excellent National Holiday next week, and wish safe journeys for all those who are traveling.  

Michael Higgins,
Master